Dinu Lipatti: The September 24, 1947 Abbey Road Recordings

The three recordings that Dinu Lipatti produced for at EMI’s Abbey Road Studio No.3 on September 24, 1947: 0:00 Bach-Hess Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring 3:33 Chopin Waltz No.2 in A-Flat Major No.1 8:08 Liszt Sonetto del Petrarca All of these works are pieces that the pianist had attempted to record before. At this session (which took place from 6 to 9pm), Lipatti made three attempts at each of the four 78rpm disc sides, with the exception of the first of two sides of the Liszt work, of which only two takes were made. The three takes that Lipatti made of the Bach transcription on this day were takes 5 through 7 of those he’d made that year (having started at his first Abbey Road session on February 20) and it was the final one that was approved and published. It should be noted that he rerecorded the work in 1950 and that is the version that circulated most regularly for decades - the 1947 account was never released on LP (despite some records having put this d